ELSEWHERE ON THE GTP NETWORK:

Game of Thrones renewed for season three! The hit fantasy series, which is based on George R.R. Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire books, pulled a record-braking 3.9 million viewers for the Game of Thrones season two premiere last week. HBO announced Tuesday the network would be ordering up at least 10 more episodes of the series for another season. Now that is some seriously awesome Game of Thrones news for fans!

The Game of Thrones season one premiere raked in 2.2 million viewers way back in April 2011, which was a strong beginning for any HBO series. Since then, the show has continued to gather a horde of fans and become a strong favorite of critics as well.

The Game of Thrones season two premiere topped the first season premiere by a huge margin, bringing in 3.9 million viewers, with a total of 5.3 million viewers watching the multiple broadcasts of the premiere on opening night. In addition to having a rabid fan base, Game of Thrones recieved 13 Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations for the first season of the show.

“Series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss raised our expectations for the second season — and then surpassed them,” HBO programming president Michael Lombardo said in a press statement. “We are thrilled by all the viewer and media support we’ve received for the series and can’t wait to see what Dan and David have in store for next season.”

So far the series has stuck relatively close to the plot and pace of the original George R.R. Martin series. Season one follows the course of the first book, while season two — currently airing now — will follow the second book. Game of Thrones season three, however, is expected to cover only part of book three due to its intricate plot and crossover timeline with other books in the series.

“A Storm of Swords is too long to fit in a single season,” said series co-creator D.B. Weiss. “And as readers know, A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons take place during roughly the same time frame, so we’ll have to fold those together. The plan, if we’re lucky enough to be given the opportunity to see it through, is to use as many seasons as we need to tell the story as a whole, to do justice to George’s entire opus.”

HBO co-president Richard Plepler said last year at the Television Critics Association press tour that the network would be happy to continue to produce the Game of Thrones television series as long as R.R. Martin wanted to keep going. How awesomeis that kind of vote of confidence for a fantasy writer, a genre of writers who rarely ever see their work interpreted on film, much less into a hugely popular, critically acclaimed television series?